There has been an awful lot of talk on the Intertubes as to whether the video was genuine, in part due to the fact that it's bloody awful. But one thing's for sure: it's sure as hell got Songsmith some coverage.

Some YouTube comments are almost angry that they voluntarily watched a video for free that they could've switched off at any point: "OMG, please, somebody stop this reasearch!! It has to be like animal testing or something," says user alemarianrtv. Geoffgc adds that, "It's like a horrible car accident you can't look away from!"

The idea behind Songsmith is simple: sing any kind of tune into your PC's microphone, and the software generates appropriate backing music. The two are melded together to form a cohesive sound, and voila! You're now a musician.

To try out the software and perhaps create your own ad, head over to Microsoft Research and download a free trial.